SOLO GUITAR COMPOSITION

Sara Landeau is a composer and guitarist who has worked across various mediums, from modern classical and improvisational jazz influences to American primitive and punk. Her current compositions are written with electric and acoustic guitars, focusing on color and tone landscapes, often expanding the instrument’s limitations with pedals, prepared pieces, audio overflowings, and short circuits. The sound of hairspray, dog toys, and sewing machines has often accompanied her pieces. The study of contrasts is vital in her compositions, such as classic fingerpicking with the acute use of pedals or a softness playing against loud and immersive soundscapes. She is interested in new musical environments and has collaborated with artists and writers to redefine stereotypical “harsh” sounds and “soft” sounds that undesirably reflect certain beliefs in many societies or cliche ideas of a woman electric guitarist.